Addressing the intersections of religion and politics, U.S. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid will deliver the University of Virginia’s inaugural Joseph Smith Lecture on Religious Liberty on Sept. 26.

Sponsored by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Religious Studies, the afternoon event will feature an interview with the five-term senator. Nevada’s senior U.S. Senator, Reid will answer questions from the audience about the Senate’s role in mediating rights of religious conscience following the interview.

"Too often, the courts are seen as the sole arbiters of religious liberty in relation to minority interests,” said Prof. Kathleen Flake, U.Va.’s Richard Lyman Bushman Chair of Mormon Studies. “We seek to balance that view with Senator Reid's insight into the legislative process, as well as less formal political activity. In any case, we expect the conversation to be a lively one."

The lecture is scheduled to take place Saturday, September 26 at 2 p.m. in the Newcomb Hall Theater. Sen. Reid’s appearance is part of a planned series of lectures and conferences supported by U.Va.’s Mormon Studies program.